Articles tagged: Texas Legislature
As Democrats Divebomb, the Texas Legislature Remains as White and Male as Ever
The legislative body’s makeup stands in stark contrast to the diverse state’s demographics.
Senfronia Thompson, a long-time Democratic legislator from Houston, was one of the first to throw her hat in the ring for House Speaker when it appeared in Nove...Read More
Texas Democrats Thought 2020 Would Be a Banner Year. Instead, It Was a Catastrophe.
Republicans will now lock in their majority for years to come.
Headed into election night, Democrats were bullish about their chances of flipping the Texas House, seizing a handful of GOP congressional seats, and maybe even...Read More
If Not Now, When? Dems’ Fight for the House Will Shape Texas Politics for Years
Democrats hope to end nearly 20 years of GOP dominance in the state government.
The number is etched in Sharon Hirsch’s mind: 391. That’s how many votes she lost her 2018 race against Republican state Representative Matt Shaheen by, in ...Read More
Telehealth Could be Great, if Texans Had Access to It
Remote health care has the potential to connect patients to doctors safely during shelter-in-place. So why do so many Texans remain disconnected?
Telehealth Could be Great, if Texans Had Access to It Remote health care has the potential to connect patients to doctors safely during shelter-in-place. So why...Read More
Texas Had a State Office That Could Have Investigated Racial Disparities in COVID-19 Cases. Lawmakers Defunded it Three Years Ago.
While early reports elsewhere show African Americans disproportionately infected and dying from COVID-19, Texas’ data is incomplete.
In 2005, faced with data showing that black and Native American families were overrepresented in Texas’ child welfare system, lawmakers ordered Child Protecti...Read More
The COVID-19 Disaster Has Made a Mess of Texas’ Open Government Rules
Some government officials in Texas appear to be exploiting the pandemic as a way to hide public business from the public.
Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and opportunistic public servants, government agencies now have carte blanche to operate in secret for as long as this crisis pe...Read More
‘I’m in Limbo Here’: Texans Are Met with an Overwhelmed and Antiquated State Unemployment System
The safety net meant to support the second largest workforce in the country is using decades-old technology. The workforce agency was trying to replace it when the pandemic hit.
Four months ago, Alan Chastain moved from Louisiana to the Houston area for a promising new job as a sales representative at a sign company. By late March, Chas...Read More
Gene Wu on Coronavirus and the Rise in Hate-Fueled Attacks Against Asian Americans
How comments from Trump, Cruz, and Cornyn inflame deep-seated prejudices against Asian Americans, further alienating them.
Jose L. Gomez, a 19-year-old charged with three counts of attempted capital murder, allegedly wanted to kill an Asian American family that included two young ch...Read More
As Texans are Exposed to Dangerous Pesticides, Lawmakers Aren’t Doing Anything
Pesticide drift is exposing rural Texans to dangerous chemicals. But lawmakers are more concerned with how that is eating into Big Ag’s balance sheet.
In the interim between legislative sessions, Texas lawmakers on the House Agriculture Committee will have an opportunity to examine an important but under-the-r...Read More